Mbabane: Averagely, 90 percent of premier league clubs’ revenue comes from gate takings. Failing to secure advertising space on their walking billboards (playing kits and fans’ replicas) has left Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) teams without any sort of revenue to keep afloat. Premier League clubs solely depend on gate takings for not just their day-to-day upkeep but also to pay players’ wages.
By its very nature, football clubs have several sources of revenue, with the four principal ones being broadcast, sponsorship, commercial and gate receipts. The current lockdown has impacted all of them. However, if games are played behind closed doors, clubs will be able to unlock three of those four revenue streams, though still probably not in full. Therein lies the rub for Eswatini teams. PLE clubs do not have broadcast deals. Only a handful, Moneni Pirates, though reportedly struggling and Mbabane Swallows have sponsorship deals. Local clubs are bankrolled by moneyed football loving individuals security forces in the form of permanent employment.
As the battle to curb the coronavirus pandemic continues, like all football leagues across the globe, the PLE suspended its matches. According to PLE Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pat Vilakati, playing behind closed doors cannot be beneficial to their affiliates even though it is something that cannot be ruled out in an attempt to finish the 2019/20 football season.
“Football structures will have discussions on how the season can be completed even after the month of May deadline. The reality is that behind closed doors cannot benefit teams as they depend on gate takings. There are more things that will have to be taken into consideration before such a decision can be taken like sponsors’ mileage. Like it was done when the current partial lockdown was introduced, teams will be engaged on the next step,” Vilakati said before mentioning that as an organisation they will await a government directive on the next step. Vilakati also had a word of advice for their affiliates on the importance of being self-sustained.
“Self-sustainability applies generally in life. It is important for clubs rake in revenue through their marketing teams and have finance control structures. They (teams) must have revenues for such times that can last them for about three months at the very least,” he added. As there is no vaccine for COVID-19 currently, it remains to be seen how the upheaval which has killed over 170 000 people from 2.4 million cases reported will pan out across the globe. Over 650 000 people have recovered from the respiratory sickness that knows no bounds, affecting 210 nations including Eswatini and different world territories.
The ‘Big Five’ leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France) and the ‘super clubs’ among them (Barcelona and Manchester United) enjoy massive financial clout. They can leverage their global reputation and popularity to realise large sums from sponsorship and merchandising, but clubs in smaller leagues like the PLE remain much more dependent on gate receipts. As the Coronavirus lockdown looms large, every sporting league today faces a question: to cancel or not? Vilakati refused to be drawn into firm declaration on whether the current season will see the light of the day or not. Given the toll the pandemic has exacted, and the inability of science to tame it yet, full normalcy seems far-fetched. But the footballing world is sending out feelers. The German Bundesliga allowed clubs to return to team training from April 6, albeit with restrictions. On April 7, ruling out a cancellation of the season, the president of Spain’s leading league, Javier Tebas, pitched for late-May or early-June resumption.
Given the financial stakes and questions of continuity, resumption behind closed doors- with only players on the field and no spectators- is a preferred option over abandoning a season that is two-thirds done. And that too only if and when Covid-19 is under control. The reality is that football is a game of the people. The supporters who throng the stands are its heart and soul. While playing in an empty stadium is not ideal, it will limit losses. On April 7, Tebas said abandoning the Spanish season would cause a loss of €1 billion (E20.3 billion), but a closed-door finish would restrict the economic damage to €350 million (E7.1 billion). The prognosis for other top European leagues is similar.
